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OMG some acronyms make me LOL

Acronyms. Love them or hate them, they are now part of our everyday communications.

I am sure we have all heard, and maybe cringed at the new texting shorthand, full of OMGs, BTWs and TMIs (Oh My God, By the Way and Too Much Information – in case you didn’t know).

But these are not actually acronyms. They are initialisms, abbreviations made from the first letter or each word and pronounced as a series of letters. Other initialisms include IT (short for Information Technology and pronounced I.T. not it), ID (Identification), ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) and FYI (For Your Information).

Acronyms are initialisms that make up words or phrases, like LOL (for laugh out loud and pronounced lol not L.O.L.) and Internet (short for Interconnected Networks).

Some words can be both an initialism and an acronym such as ASAP (As Soon As Possible, pronounced either as A.S.A.P. or A Sap) or FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions, which can be pronounced as F.A.Q. fac or fact).

Some abbreviations have become so common place that we often forget they stand for something else. Here are some of our favourites.

In our fast paced world abbreviations can be useful. But remember that the purpose of communication is to share information. This means that both parties must understand what is being said. So use initialisms and acronyms carefully and check that the person you are communicating with knows what you are saying.

For further information on communicating in the workplace, contact Pertrain Pty Ltd on (07) 5445 2233.
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We have developed thousands of general and customised training resources for the mining, energy resource and civil construction industries. Our products are found on mine sites, refineries, construction sites, processing plants and smelters throughout Australia and countries including the Ivory Coast, Laos, Tanzania, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Indonesia.

How many steps in a TAKE 5 process? (TIP: The answer is between 4 and 6)

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